Cowles Library - 1967 Building

Cowles Library - 1969 Building Addition

Originally submitted by Max Chorpash, Drake University, Fall 2011

Brief History: In 1907 the Carnegie Library was formed in Carnegie Hall, and this was the first official library on campus. It wasn't until 1937 that the library was renamed what it is today, Cowles Library. The building addition came in 1967 when the library grew in size and was completely redone. In 1969 two new features of the library were created. The Science Periodicals Room, which stored books and journals on the basic science and math subjects, was added to the southeast corner of the older part of Library. In addition, in 1969, the Browsing Section contained about 600-900 books that were added.

A renovation of the building began in 1993 In 2000, what was formerly a storage room was modernized into what is known today as the Reading Room. Also, the hallway that leads into the reading room, was expanded and made bigger, and made into a commons area.

Gardner Cowles Sr. It isn't possible to talk about the library without talking about the man who started it all, Gardner Cowles Sr. Cowles was born in 1861 in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and was already facing some rough times when his mother died when he was at the young age of 12. He went to college at William Penn in Oskaloosa, and was interested in the arts and journalism. In 1903, Cowles received a call from Harvey Ingham and asked if he would partner in a newspaper called The Des Moines Register and Leader that was deep in debt. Cowles agreed, and the newspaper ended up doing very well, and he and Ingham ended up being very wealthy men. In 1937, Gardner Cowles Sr. gave a 185,000 dollar donation to the library, and in return it was named after him. Still today the library remains named after him, and after many renovations remains standing today.

1967 Renovation: On May 7, 1967 Cowles Library expanded 66,000 square feet, which was nearly triple the space of the old facility. This new space allowed for 1,400 students to be seated in the library as opposed to 300 students in the old one. The new addition was built in a "U" shape around the east, north and west sides and the main entrance faced Carpenter Avenue. Now included in the Cowles Library after the renovation, were individual study nooks. These were places that students could study in the library and have their own personal workspace. Also, the glass-enclosed study room was a smoking room. This was the only smoking friendly room in the library, but one of the many study lounges in the library at this time. In fact, each floor had numerous amounts of lounge study areas that were student friendly. In addition, there were open stacks and this made finding books and volumes extremely easy to students.

File:Http://library.drake.edu/sites/default/files/Level-1.gif width="260" height="172"2009 Floor-Plan, First Floor of Cowles Library Cowles Library Today: Today, everything in the library has been modernized and expanded after the renovations in both 1967 and 2000. The Reading Room and the atrium, are absolute silent study, where most students will just study for exams in peace. In addition, the Cowles Cafe has included a Starbucks that students can sit in the group study rooms on ground level and study until closing. The library is said to hold about 1,200 students, which is quite the increase from before the 1967 renovation. Not only can Cowles Library hold 1,200 students, it can hold many books as well. The estimated number is that Cowles has about 275,000 books and volumes spread around the library. To the convenience of students there are cubicles available in the upper floor of the library, that is in the quieter section of the library. Also to the convenience of students, the library hours make it much easier for students to study. On Monday-Thursday, and Sunday the library is open until 1 am, so if there is any cramming needed there is plenty of time into the next morning to do it. It is even open on Saturday from 9am-7pm, and the Starbuck's stays open late as well!

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